Short of funds, the legislature stipulated that the county pledging
the most land and money to the project would host the new facility.
When bids were opened in Boonville on July 13th, Callaway County won
with a pledge of 500 acres of land and $11,500 in cash. To raise the
money, citizens pledged $5, $25 or whatever they could afford to secure
the asylum. Not trusting those small pledge-givers, the state required
fifteen "responsible" Callawegians to sign a pledge, guaranteeing
full payment of the $11,500.

"The town of Fulton is a beautiful village, containing a population
of about 700 souls, the principal streets of which have been graded
and macadamized, and has also within it 4 churches, one male and female
academy, besides other schools. The location the commissioners look
upon in a favorable light, and with the necessary means the grounds
can be made indeed beautiful, and to answer all the purposes so essentially
necessary for an institution of this character."